RBS Online
RBS is now accepting applications for online courses in 2021. Please consult the Course Schedule for more information.
In 2020, RBS responded to the pandemic by offering a varied series of free digital programs centered on bibliography and the history of the book. These programs focused on the study of textual artifacts and their crucial role in shaping understandings of cultural heritage and informing humanistic research. The offerings included five series: a Course-Related Content Series offered by RBS faculty members that will be available to students who were enrolled at RBS this summer in some cases and, in others, open to wider audiences; a Panel Discussion Series, featuring RBS faculty members and colleagues from the broader book community; a Young Book Lovers Series, designed to engage K-12 audiences as well as others new to the book; a Lecture Series, building off of RBS’s traditional programming; and a BiblioVideo Series, highlighting pedagogy and research with textual artifacts.
This content, while not a substitute for Rare Book School’s full courses, provided an opportunity to gather and pursue our shared love of learning what bibliographical materials reveal about human history and human nature, how to care for these remarkable objects, and how to share what we know with the wider world.
Many of the events listed below that occurred in 2020 were recorded and are now available for public viewing. You can access the recordings by consulting the webpages listed below or by visiting the Rare Book School YouTube channel.
Featured Video
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Course-Related Content Series
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In this series, members of our faculty will be discussing a variety of book history topics related to the courses that they offer at RBS, or to their current research. These events will include lecture-style talks with Q&A, discussion-based sessions, and webinars. There will be a mix of offerings primarily intended for students who were admitted to an RBS course this summer; offerings that are open to general registration on a first-come, first-serve basis; and offerings that are open to everyone who wishes to attend.
Click on the event title below for more details.
“The Scientific Woodblock to 1800” with Roger Gaskell and Caroline Duroselle-Melish
Thursday, 19 November 2020, 12–1:10 p.m. ET.
“German Bookbinders in London: From Linde to Lewis” with Karen Limper-Herz
Wednesday, 11 November 2020, 12–1:10 p.m. ET.
“How Making Paper by Hand and by Machine Impacts Its Characteristics” with Cathleen Baker
Wednesday, 28 October 2020, 12:00–1:00 p.m. ET.
“An Introduction to Letterpress Printing: A Studio-Based Workshop” with John Kristensen & Katherine McCanless Ruffin
Tuesday, 27 October 2020, 12:00–1:15 p.m. ET
“Contemporary Artists’ Books: A Concise Introduction” with Tony White
Wednesday, 21 October 2020, 5–6:10 p.m. ET.
“Understanding the Mechanical Behavior of Library and Archive Materials with Changes in Relative Humidity” with Al Carver-Kubik
Monday, 5 October 2020, 5 –6:10 p.m. ET.
“Introduction to ‘The Illustrated Scientific Book to 1800’ ” with Roger Gaskell and Caroline Duroselle-Melish
Wednesday, 23 September 2020, 12 –1:00 p.m. ET.
“Materials that Made the Manuscript” with Raymond Clemens
Mondays and Thursdays, 28 September–15 October 2020, 12 –1:00 p.m. ET.
“Scientific Analysis of the Book” with Raymond Clemens & Richard Hark
Thursdays, 17 September–22 October 2020, 4 –4:50 p.m. ET.
“Luxurious and Fashionable: An Introduction to Embroidered Bookbindings” with Karen Limper-Herz
Wednesday, 29 July 2020, 11 a.m.–12:10 p.m. ET.
“On Digital Tools: Walk-through for Digital Mappa” with Dot Porter
“Introducing the Arthur Tress Collection of Japanese Illustrated Books” with Julie Nelson Davis
Wednesday, 22 July 2020, 4–5:10 p.m. ET.
“Reference Sources for Researching Printed Americana: An Introduction” with Joel Silver
Monday, 20 July 2020, Wednesday, 22 July 2020, and Monday, 27 July 2020, 10–11 a.m. ET.
“Islamic Manuscripts: Your Questions Answered” with Marianna Shreve Simpson and Kelly Tuttle
Thursday, 16 July 2020, 4–5:30 p.m. ET.
“Picturing the Floating World: Ukiyo-e in Context” with Julie Nelson Davis
Wednesday, 8 July 2020, 4–5:10 p.m. ET.
“Textual Connected Histories and Global Legacies” with Roger Chartier & John Pollack
Wednesday, 8 July; Monday, 13 July; Wednesday, 15 July 2020, 11-12:30 p.m. ET.
“An Introduction to Letterpress Printing: A Studio-Based Workshop” with John Kristensen & Katherine McCanless Ruffin
Wednesday, 1 July 2020, 1–2:10 p.m. ET.
“Law Books: Your Questions Answered” with Mike Widener & Ryan Greenwood
Tuesday, 30 June 2020, 2–3:30 p.m. ET.
“Contemporary Artists’ Books: A Concise Introduction” with Tony White
Wednesday, 24 June 2020, 6–7:10 p.m. ET.
“Adhered-Boards Construction and the Transition to Case Binding” with Todd Pattison
Monday, 22 June 2020, 2–3:30 p.m. ET
“Reference Sources for Researching Rare Books: Some Freely Available Sources” with Joel Silver
Mondays and Wednesday, 22 June–29 June 2020, 10–11 a.m. ET
“Spending Bloomsday Talking to Checkers, Wingtip, and Speckles: or, How to Understand the First Printings of James Joyce’s Ulysses” with John Hessler
Tuesday, 16 June 2020, 4–5 p.m. ET
“Flowers and Letter-Writing” with Peter Stallybrass
Mondays and Wednesdays, 27 May–15 June 2020.
“A Curator’s Look at Indigenous Mapping in the Early Americas (1500–1575)” with John Hessler
Wednesday, 27 May, 2020; Monday, 1 June, 2020 ; Wednesday, 3 June 2020
“Materials that Made the Manuscript” with Raymond Clemens
Mondays and Thursdays, 18 May–8 June 2020
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Panel Discussion Series
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Open to everyone, these panel discussions will address a variety of topics related to textual artifacts, the bibliophilic community, and questions related to the current struggles faced by all during the pandemic.
The panel discussions will be held synchronously on Zoom with a concluding Q&A portion. Many of the discussions will be available afterward as a recording on our YouTube channel, which can be found here.
Click on the titles below to find more information.
Teaching with Manuscripts: Material, Digital, and Collaborative Pedagogies
Wednesday, 21 April 2021, 4:30–6:00 p.m. ET, via Zoom
Collecting & Copyright: Three Case Studies
Tuesday, 10 November 2020, 4–5:00 p.m. ET, via Zoom
Race and the Boundaries of the Book: Seven Early American Perspectives
Tuesday, 20 October 2020, 5–6:00 p.m. ET, via Zoom
A Fractured Inheritance: The Problems, Challenges, and Opportunities of Collecting Manuscript Fragments
Tuesday, 15 September 2020, 5–6:30 p.m. ET, via Zoom
Black Print Culture
Tuesday, 1 September 2020, 5–6 p.m. ET, via Zoom
Records of Deception: Forgeries and the Integrity of the Historical Record
Tuesday, 30 June 2020, 4–5:15 p.m. ET, via Zoom
Books as Bridges
Tuesday, 23 June 2020, 4–5:15 p.m. ET, via Zoom
Gains & Losses: COVID-19, Institutional Collecting, and the Antiquarian Book Trade
Tuesday, 19 May 2020, 4–5:15 p.m. ET, via Zoom
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Lecture Series
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The RBS Lecture Series is a long-standing tradition. Please join us on Zoom to hear from our latest lecturers and participate in the concluding Q&A session. These lectures will be added to our digitized library of lectures for future instruction and enjoyment as well.
Click on the titles below for a full description.
Print and the Urdu Public: Newspapers, Muslims, and Urban Life in Colonial India, a lecture by Megan Robb
Thursday, 23 July 2020, 7–8 p.m. ET, via Zoom
From Poet to Publisher: Reading Gwendolyn Brooks by Design, a lecture by Kinohi Nishikawa
Thursday, 16 July 2020, 7–8 p.m. ET, via Zoom
An Alternative History of the Atlas, a lecture by Ayesha Ramachandran
Thursday, 2 July 2020, 7–8 p.m. ET, via Zoom
A Hornbook for Digital Book History, a lecture by Whitney Trettien
Thursday, 18 June 2020, 7–8 p.m. ET, via Zoom
Superheroes and Shocking Affairs, or, Adventures in Cataloging Popular Literature, a lecture by Brenna Bychowski
Thursday, 11 June 2020, 7–8 p.m. ET, via Zoom
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Young Book Lovers Series
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This series, featuring a variety of book-related activities, including how-to videos you can follow in your own home, read- along(s) with our Rare Book School staff, and coloring pages based on RBS’s teaching collections, is intended for children and adults alike who love books and book history.
Follow this link to see all of our Young Book Lovers Series offerings!
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BiblioVideo Series
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This series of pre-recorded content features videos focused on pedagogy and research produced by RBS Fellows, staff, and members of the RBS community.
Click on the title below for more information.
BiblioVideos on Race and the Boundaries of the Book: Seven Early American Perspectives
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Previously Recorded Content
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In addition to our new RBS Online series’ content, you can find more resources on our YouTube channel.
Also, find years’ worth of Rare Book School lectures at our Soundcloud page!
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